Lemon and Hazelnut Bars

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Until very recently the lemon tart was the only lemon cake I prepared (for me all the sweets containing only lemon zest don’t fall into the “lemon” category). Then, a couple of weeks ago I saw Lemon and Hazelnut Bars at The Kitchen Sink blog and, having saved the recipe, I promised myself to give it a try next time I would have a lemon craving.

This is the first time I taste hazelnut and lemon combination and must admit the hazelnut crust and the lemon filling make a very flavoursome couple, not to mention their contrasting textures. Even though the lemon bars are not as delicate and sophisticated as a good lemon tart may be, their preparation is incredibly easy and, to my surprise, tastes even better when the crust is made with wholemeal flour (I have tried both versions). And, last but not least, even those who usually are scared of tangy lemon sweets, adore these bars. I have slightly modified the original recipe.

Preparation: 1 hour + at least 2 hours in the fridge

Ingredients:

the crust:

80g ground hazelnuts

30g flour (I used wholemeal flour, but the original recipe calls for white one)

25g sugar

1/4 teasponn salt

8 tablespoons butter, diced

the filling:

4 eggs

150g sugar

100ml lemon juice

40g white flour

(dusting sugar)

Preheat the oven to 175°C.

Mix the crust’s ingredients in a food processor or knead them to a homogenous sticky dough.

Line a baking dish with baking paper (my dish had 20x20cm) and cover the bottom with the crust.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the crust becomes slightly brown.

In the meantime prepare the filling.

Combine the eggs, the sugar, the flour add the lemon juice and mix well with a fork or a whisk.

Take the baked crust out of the oven. Lower the temperature to 150°C.

Pour the filling over the hot crust and put it back into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.

Let the cake cool and put it for about 2 hours in the fridge. Cut into bars and serve cold. (You can sprinkle it with dusting sugar. I didn’t because I hate sugar-dusted cakes).

Published by Sissi

5 Replies to “Lemon and Hazelnut Bars”

  1. Sissi this looks delicious, I think I will try this – I love lemon tart, but for some reason the combination of lemon and pie crust gives me heartburn. It might be different with nuts in the crust.

    1. Thank you Zsuzsa. Do try this. It’s one of the easiest cakes I have ever prepared. It’s also less acid than the lemon pie, so maybe also thanks to this you won’t have a heartburn (I know some people who have it while eating very acid food…).

  2. How strange! NOW I remember seeing these but I never made the connection. Its almost the same as mine Sissi, except for the nuts in the base. I ate a couple of the lemon bars in the afternoon – I love lemon – but I went to bed with heartburn. So I froze most of it and will bring it out little by little. I will try to remember your hazelnut base; it would go so well with an icebox cheesecake. Hazelnuts are my all time favourite nuts.

    1. That’s it! I’m baking these bars once again! I couldn’t take my eyes off you bars, had some ground hazelnuts so the decision was made very quickly!
      I’m sorry you get heartburn with lemon juice 🙁 You know, I get it when I have a sweet breakfast (it happens very rarely).

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